After a 21-year-old Massachusetts Air National Guardsman IT specialist allegedly leaked highly classified Pentagon documents and was arrested at his North Dighton home this week, military experts are questioning how this could happen, with one calling it “a failure by leadership.”

Jack Teixeira, who has been stationed at Otis Air National Guard Base on Cape Cod, is accused of publicly posting top secret government documents on the war in Ukraine and other highly sensitive matters. He was arraigned on federal charges in Boston’s U.S. District Court on Friday.

As a “cyber defense operations journeyman,” Teixeira has held a top secret security clearance since 2021. For this, he had to a sign a lifetime binding non-disclosure agreement, acknowledging that disseminating protected information could result in criminal charges.

“He took advantage of his position, copying that highly classified information and then subsequently photographing it and posting it online,” retired naval Cmdr. Kirk Lippold, the former commander of the USS Cole when the ship was attacked by terrorists, told the Herald on Friday.

“He violated that trust, and he should be held accountable to the fullest extent of the law, as should his superiors,” said Lippold, who added, “This was a failure by leadership. There was inadequate oversight, and there was a lack of accountability throughout the chain of command for this to happen.”

Officials need to figure out how this leak happened, he emphasized.

“They’re going to look at any major breakdowns that can prevent this from happening in the future,” Lippold said. “Clearly there was a breakdown.”

In addition to Teixeira’s top secret clearance, he maintained sensitive compartmented access to other highly classified programs. He has had this access since 2021, like the top secret clearance.

Top secret and military clearances are based on trust, said Monica Toft, professor of International Politics at The Fletcher School at Tufts University.

“There’s an issue here with giving clearances of highly classified information to very young folks,” Toft said.

“99.999% of folks with these clearances behave, but you can see what happens when one person goes awry,” Toft added. “If you break the law with classified information, there are really dire consequences.”

Teixeira could face 15 years in prison if he’s found guilty. He’s accused of: unauthorized retention and transmission of national defense information, and unauthorized removal and retention of classified documents or material.

“The Pentagon and the intelligence community are doing what they need to do, demonstrating that there are real implications, real consequences for sharing this highly classified information,” Toft said. “They need to prosecute this behavior to show what happens if you leak this information.”